


Run

by MoonLight_Lover



Category: Original Work
Genre: Camping, Gen, I Don't Even Know, Summer Vacation, forest fire, i can't tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-08 22:03:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17394506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonLight_Lover/pseuds/MoonLight_Lover
Summary: It was meant to be a fun summer trip. Him and his friends, having fun before the end of the summer holidays, so why did it have to go so wrong?





	Run

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys,  
> I live in England, and in one of our English exams, we have to do a portion of creative writing. This was something I wrote in a practise paper in class. For 45 minutes I think I did alright considering I was thinking on the spot. The task was to write the opening of a story where a dramatic event occurs. I thought I might as well post it, though I haven't edited it so its probably really bad. Let me know what you think.

Run. That was the only thought. Run. On everyone's mind. Run! There was a stampede of footsteps. Cloths covering mouths, trying to see through the smoke. Shouts all saying the same thing. Run!

it had started out as an innocent camping trip for Nathan and his friends. Before they all had to leave for college and university, before they finally, really had to grow up. It was meant to be fun. And it was, to begin with. Loud laughs ringing through the woods, that were close Nathan's house. Later in the evening, the bright fire glowing red, orange and yellow crackled calmly, turning the dry sliver birch branches charcoal black. Stick marshmallows, stuck between chocolates digestives. The sweet smell of the smores wafting through the air. And when they had gone to bed, Nathan had made sure to put the fire out, it would probably be a warm night, 24°C.

it was a few hours later when Nathan awoke, and he knew the second he did, something was very wrong. Before he even heard the shouts of his friends outside, or saw the eye of his awaking tent mate, he smelt the fire, felt the fire. There was a shiny layer of sweat on his skin. The warmth had turned his tent into a furnace, and is lungs felt heavy as they filled up with smoke. Nathan half crawled, half ran, out of the tent, Toby, his camp mate, his best friend, hot on his heals.

The forest was alight in the darkness. The fire already tearing down a few of the tree's near by, burning them to a crisp. Panic began to set in. Time slowed down, almost stopped as Nathan looked around. The fire was so close he could touch it, if he took two, three steps behind him, the flames already licking one of his friends tents, melting plastic adding to the concoction of scents in the air. Turning quickly, a small amount of relief washed over him, as he counted all seven of his friends surveying the scene with a look of horror etched onto their faces. Then his head began to flood with questions, because the fire was coming from the back of the site; It hadn't been set by them. But then who had? Why? was it on purpose? And then finally after all these thoughts flashed through his head in the short millisecond, one word took over his head. Run.

"Run!" And they ran. In and out, though the trees. slowly separating through the trees. Their campsite being engulfed in flames behind them, soon the fire would chasing them to. "Nathan, what ae you doing?" Toby asked. The question came out breathless, as they ran though the trees. And Nathan knew why he was asking. Even though the boys had split, they all were running to the same place, to the edge of the woods, out of the woods, out of the danger. Not Nathan, he was running deeper in into the danger, where the fire can move fast, could quickly catch him. "Trust me. There's a little river just a little in, I was going to take everyone there tomorrow. It's shorter than running out. We'll be safe in the water, I promise." Nathan replies, while jumping over an old fallen tree.

So while the other boys ran to the edge, Nathan and Toby went deeper. And not even a minute later, Nathan could feel the fire breathing o his neck. They had slow down a bit, his friend tiring, probably because he really was quite short compared to Nathan. But they were picking up the pace know, or trying to, Nathan half holding onto Toby's hand in an effort to keep him close and moving. But it was slowing the both of them down, and they were losing their grip. Nathan stumbled, and toby's hand slipped from him, he almost stopped. "Just go. I'm right behind you." shouted Nathan. His legs were burning but he couldn't stop now. And the creeping smoke was setting in, and Nathan was finding it difficult to see two steps in front of him. But he was almost there. Nathan just ran, and ran, and ran , and ran. Run. Run. Run. Run. 

He came bursting out of the trees, the water rushing just him. He leapt of the small bank and into the water, into the safe zone. The coolness washed over him, as well as a sigh of relief. and for a second everything seamed to stop. Silence.  The water was swirling around him, coming around mid thigh, seven or eight strides, before the water got quickly shallow onto the bank of the safe side of the forest. Nathan looked up, the smoke hadn't yet reach the open sky. The starts twinkling in the midnight sky, the nearly full moon shinning brightly. The air was clean and fresh.

A small, and slightly hysterical laugh escaped Nathan's lips, and then he turned around to find. Nothing. And everything came crashing back down. Because before him, the fire and reach the bank, the flames rapping round the final tree's turning them black, before slowly straightening up into a wall of fire along the bank, only a few gaps in between. The smoke didn't move forward, as though it knew that it shouldn't, that it was forbiden. There were no screams, no signal the he was hurt or stuck. It had only been a few seconds once he had lost sight of him. So there should be some thing. But there was nothing. No sound. So, where was the Toby? where was the boy he loved?   

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. I know there's a lot happening, I was just cramming different things into it, it would have been nice to expand on some of the ideas. If anyone wants me to continue, let me know in the comments and I'll think about it. Thanks for reading x


End file.
